Center for Career Services Guidelines, Policies, and Principles for Recruiters and Employers

Ringling College of Art and Design: Principles for Professional Practice

Career services and employment professionals are involved in an important process—helping students choose and attain personally rewarding careers, and helping employers develop effective college relations programs which contribute to effective candidate selections for their organizations. The impact of this process upon individuals and organizations requires commitment by practitioners to principles for professional practice.

Career services and employment professionals are involved in this process in a partnership effort with a common goal of achieving the best match between the individual student and the employing organization. This partnership effort traditionally involves students, but may also involve alumni, community members, prospective students, and/or faculty staff.

The Center for Career Services reserves the right, as a private college, to review and adjudicate if the listings submitted through our web portal database meet the institutions’ criteria for art and design, age, and educational-appropriate content. Employers’ requesting access to our resources who do not meet our institutional standards cannot post their listings on our web site.

Criteria:Art and Design = postings that embody the creative and inventive use of art and design techniques, materials, and knowledge of traditional media relative to professional standards.

Age = postings that reflect the developmental context of the late adolescent through young adult learner.

Educational = postings that reflect the educational mission of the college; the learning context and curriculum focus of our majors; and the effort to situate those majors in appropriate art and design contexts, products, and services in an ethical and legal manner.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), as the national professional association to facilitate the employment of the college educated, is also concerned with this process. The concern led NACE to the development and adoption of the Principles for Professional Practice. The principles presented here are designed to provide practitioners with three basic precepts for career planning and recruitment:

· Maintain an open and free selection of employment opportunities in an atmosphere conducive to objective thought, where job candidates can choose optimum long-term uses of their talents that are consistent with personal objectives and all relevant facts;

· Maintain a recruitment process that is fair and equitable to candidates and employing organizations;

· Support informed and responsible decision making by candidates.

Adherence to the guidelines will support the collaborative effort of career services and employment professionals while reducing the potential for abuses. The guidelines also apply to new technology or third-party recruiting relationships which may be substituted for the traditional personal interaction among career services professionals, employer professionals, and students.

These principles are not all-inclusive; they are intended to serve as a framework within which the career planning and recruitment processes should function, and as a foundation upon which professionalism can be promoted.

As part of NACE's commitment to provide leadership in the ethics area and to facilitate the ongoing dialogue on ethics-related issues, the NACE Principles for Professional Practice Committee was established. The committee, made up of career counseling and employer practitioners, will provide advisory opinions to college and employer members on the application of the Principles, act as an informational clearinghouse for various ethical issues, periodically review and recommend changes to this document, and resolve problems which may arise.

It is important to keep in mind one final point. The Principles do not address certain professional obligations to support state and regional associations, professional development programs, salary surveys, and other demographic trend surveys. Obligations such as these are recognized as vital to the continuing growth of our profession, but since they do not relate directly to the recruitment process, they are not addressed specifically in this document. However, the National Association of Colleges and Employers Board of Directors strongly encourages career services and employment professionals to support and participate in these activities.

Finally: The Center for Career Services at Ringling College of Art and Design isin compliance with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and expects recruiters and employers to similarly honor the professional standards of this and other associations.

Principles for Career Service Professionals

1. Career services professionals, without imposing personal values or biases, will assist individuals in developing a career plan or making a career decision.

2. Career services professionals will know the career services field and the educational institution and students they represent, and will have appropriate counseling skills.

3. Career services professionals will provide students with information on a range of career opportunities and types of employing organizations. They will inform students of the means and resources to gain access to information which may influence their decisions about an employing organization. Career services professionals will also provide employing organizations with accurate information about the educational institution and its students and about the recruitment policies of the career services office.

4. Career services professionals will provide comparable services to all employers, regardless of whether the employers contribute services, gifts, or financial support to the educational institution or office and regardless of the level of such support.

5. Career services professionals will establish reasonable and fair guidelines for access to services by employers. When guidelines permit access to organizations recruiting on behalf of an employer and to international employers, the following principles will apply:

a) Organizations providing recruiting services for a fee may be asked to inform career services of the specific employer they represent and the specific jobs for which they are recruiting. When deemed necessary, career services can request contact information to verify that the organization is recruiting for a bona fide job opportunity. Career services must respect the confidentiality of this information and may not publish it in any manner. Third-party recruiters that charge fees to students will not be permitted access to career services;

b) Employers recruiting for work outside of the United States are expected to adhere to the equal employment opportunity (EEO) policy and U.S. labor law policies of the career services office. They will advise the career services office and the students of the realities of working in that country and of any cultural and employment law differences.

6. Career services professionals will maintain EEO compliance and follow affirmative action principles in career services activities in a manner that includes the following:

a) Referring all interested students for employment opportunities without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability, and providing reasonable accommodations upon request;

b) Notifying employing organizations of any selection procedures that appear to have an adverse impact based upon the student's race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, military service, veteran status, or disability;

c) Assisting recruiters in accessing certain groups on campus to provide a more inclusive applicant pool;

d) Informing all students about employment opportunities, with particular emphasis on those employment opportunities in occupational areas where certain groups of students are underrepresented;

f) Responding to complaints of EEO noncompliance, working to resolve such complaints with the recruiter or employing organization, and, if necessary, consulting with the appropriate campus department.

7. Any disclosure of student information outside of the educational institution will be with prior consent of the student unless health and/or safety considerations necessitate the dissemination of such information. Career services professionals will exercise sound judgment and fairness in maintaining the confidentiality of student information, regardless of the source, including written records, reports, and computer data bases.

8. Only qualified personnel will evaluate or interpret assessments of a career exploration nature. Students will be informed of the availability of assessments, the purpose of such assessments, and the disclosure policies regarding assessment results.

9. If the charging of fees for career services becomes necessary, such fees will be appropriate to the budgetary needs of the office and will not hinder student or employer access to services. Career services professionals are encouraged to counsel student and university organizations engaged in recruitment activities to follow this principle.

10. Career services professionals will advise students about their obligations in the recruitment process and establish mechanisms to encourage their compliance. Students' obligations include providing truthful and accurate information; adhering to recruiting schedules; accepting an offer of employment in good faith; notifying employers on a timely basis of an acceptance or nonacceptance and withdrawing from the recruiting process after accepting an offer of employment; interviewing only with employers for whom students are interested in working and whose qualifications requirements they meet; and requesting reimbursement of only reasonable and legitimate expenses incurred in the recruitment process.

11. Career services professionals will provide services to international students consistent with U.S. immigration laws; inform those students about these laws; represent the reality of the available job market in the United States; encourage pursuit of only those employment opportunities in the United States that meet the individual's work authorization; and encourage pursuit of eligible international employment opportunities.

12. Career services professionals will also promote and encourage acceptance of these principles throughout their educational institution, particularly with faculty and staff who work directly with employers, and will respond to reports of noncompliance.

Principles for Employment Professionals

1. Employment professionals will refrain from any practice that improperly influences and affects job acceptances. Such practices may include undue time pressure for acceptance of employment offers and encouragement of revocation of another employment offer. Employment professionals will strive to communicate decisions to candidates within the agreed-upon time frame.

2. Employment professionals will have knowledge of the recruitment and career development field as well as the industry and the employing organization that they represent, and work within a framework of professionally accepted recruiting, interviewing, and selection techniques.

3. Employment professionals will provide accurate information on their organization and employment opportunities. Employing organizations are responsible for information supplied and commitments made by their representatives. If conditions change and require the employing organization to revoke its commitment, the employing organization will pursue a course of action for the affected candidate that is fair and equitable.

4. Neither employment professionals nor their organizations will expect, or seek to extract, special favors or treatment which would influence the recruitment process as a result of support, or the level of support, to the educational institution or career services office in the form of contributed services, gifts, or other financial support.

5. Serving alcohol should not be part of the recruitment process on or off campus. This includes receptions, dinners, company tours, etc.

6. Employment professionals will maintain equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance and follow affirmative action principles in recruiting activities in a manner that includes the following:

c) Avoiding questions that are considered unacceptable by EEO guidelines for fair employment practices during the recruiting process;

d) Developing a sensitivity to, and awareness of, cultural differences and the diversity of the work force;

e) Informing campus constituencies of special activities that have been developed to achieve the employer's affirmative action goals;

f) Investigating complaints forwarded by the career services office regarding EEO noncompliance and seeking resolution of such complaints.

7. Employment professionals will maintain the confidentiality of student information, regardless of the source, including personal knowledge, written records/reports, and computer databases. There will be no disclosure of student information to another organization without the prior written consent of the student, unless necessitated by health and/or safety considerations.

8. Those engaged in administering, evaluating, and interpreting assessment tools, employment screening tests, and technology used in selection will be trained and qualified to do so. Employment professionals must advise the career services office of any test/assessment conducted on campus and eliminate such a test/assessment if it violates campus policies or fair employment practices. Employment professionals must advise students in a timely fashion of the type and purpose of any test that students will be required to take as part of the recruitment process and to whom the results will be disclosed. All tests/assessments will be reviewed by the employing organization for disparate impact and job-relatedness.

9. When using organizations that provide recruiting services for a fee, employment professionals will respond to inquiries by the career services office regarding this relationship and the positions the organization was contracted to fill. This principle applies equally to any other form of recruiting that is used as a substitute for the traditional employer/student interaction. These principles apply to organizations providing such services.

10. When employment professionals conduct recruitment activities through student associations or academic departments, such activities will be conducted in accordance with the policies of the career services office.

11. Employment professionals will cooperate with the policies and procedures of the career services office, including certification of EEO compliance as well as compliance with all federal and state employment regulations.

13. Employment professionals recruiting for international operations will do so according to EEO and U.S. labor law standards. Employment professionals will advise the career services office and students of the realities of working in the foreign country and of any cultural or employment law differences.

14. Employment professionals will educate and encourage acceptance of these principles throughout their employing institution and by third parties representing their employing organization on campus, and will respond to reports of noncompliance.

Principles for Third-Party Recruiters

Preface: The NACE Principles provides definitions and guidelines for third parties and contractual/staffing services. It is our hope that career services will use this information to make appropriate decisions about the use of third-party, contractual, and staffing services in their operations, including career fairs. These standards are also designed to provide guidance to third-party recruiters who recruit college graduates through the college recruitment process. These standards are not to be construed as requiring or encouraging, or prohibiting or discouraging, use of third-party recruiters by college or employer professionals.

1. Third-party recruiters are agencies, organizations, or individuals recruiting candidates for temporary, part-time, or full-time employment opportunities other than for their own needs. This includes entities that refer or recruit for profit or not for profit, and it includes agencies that collect student information to be disclosed to employers for purposes of recruitment and employment. Third-party recruiting organizations charge fees to employers or clients for services.

2. Third-party recruiters will follow the principles as defined above for Employers. Third-party recruiters will be versed in the recruitment field and work within a framework of professionally accepted recruiting, interviewing, and selection techniques.

4. Career centers may choose to advise students to approach with caution third-party recruiters who charge a fee. Members are encouraged to make available to students the NACE publication, "A Student's Guide to Interviewing With Third-Party Recruiters."

5. Third-party recruiters will disclose to students the name(s) of the client, or clients, that the third-party recruiter is representing and to whom the students' credentials will be disclosed. When deemed necessary, third-party recruiters will disclose information upon request to career services that would enable career services to verify that it is recruiting for a bona fide job opportunity. Information should include contact information for the organization for which the third party is providing recruiting services. Career services must respect the confidentiality of this information and may not publish it in any manner.

6. Third-party recruiters will not disclose to any employer, including the client-employer, any student information without obtaining prior written consent from the student. Under no circumstances can student information be disclosed for other than the original recruiting purposes nor can it be sold or provided to other entities. Online job posting and resume referral services must prominently display their privacy policies on their web sites, specifying who will have access to student information.

7. Third-party recruiters attending career fairs will represent employers who have authorized them and will disclose to career services the names of the represented employers.

In addition to the NACE Principles for Professional Practice above, Ringling College of Art & Design’s Career Services upholds the mission that CCS acts as catalysts for students and alumni in realizing the full potential of their art and design education. To that end, CCS attempts to provide a variety of services to students and alumni.

The Center for Career Services provides core resources and opportunities for students and alumni that begin addressing the internship, summer job, entry-level and advanced employment needs of Ringling College students and graduates:

** Web database directories – Career Search – that accounts for national and international employers.

** On-campus recruiting.

** Information on networking with alumni and access strategies.

Regarding job postings on College Central Network, Ringling College of Art & Design or its affiliates is not responsible in any way for listings’ contents. Students/alumni are responsible for their contracts/working relationships with listing parties and must be aware of all applicable law (i.e. intellectual property) regarding listed positions.

Outside work cannot be done in the labs at Ringling School of Art & Design as it breaks educational software licensing agreements.

The success of Ringling College is embodied in the success of its students and graduates. The CCS works with students/alumni to help them realize their personal and professional potential.

However, the CCS can only guarantee access, not success: the variables of motivation, persistence, qualifications and competition in the global economy are unpredictable and uncertain.

For Employment Professionals:

The Center for Career Services offers organizations a wide range of connection points and opportunities to access the talent pool of Ringling College of Art and Design. Below is an overview of services to employers. Note that many employers use multiple services to ensure that the best possible candidate pool is developed for all parties’ mutual satisfaction. There is also a more comprehensive brochure available to employers.

Position listing service: This no-cost option provides a directlink for finding Ringling College studentand alumni talent.

Locating candidates through our Web Site:

Once registered, employers can search students’ and alumni resumes and portfolios to identify potential candidates through the CCN Network.

Material distribution:

Companies often provide a variety of flyers, brochures, posters and related recruiting and advertising materials for students.

Classroom critiques / work with faculty: Todevelop a presence on campus, someemployers work with faculty to offerclassroom critiques of students’ work asthey finalize their senior portfolios, reels,and presentations.

Campus presentations:

The Center for Career Services welcomes, coordinates and advertises organizations’

campus-wide presentations of recruiters with internships or full-time opportunities.

Portfolio reviews / interviewing:

In addition to a campus presentation,CCS will coordinate on-campus recruitingvisit for companies with full-time orinternship opportunities.

Campus visits for student shows:

At the end of the spring semester in late April or early May, every major at Ringling

College produces a final show for its seniors.

Specialized campus workshops:

If the academic schedule permits, CCS coordinates with academic department support, workshops and intensive technical training for some companies with such requests.

Center for Career Services policy regarding job offers made to students prior to graduation.

Students are not forced by employers into a time-limited decision by “exploding job offers” such as signing bonuses that evaporate after a set period of time.

Students areallowed reasonable time by employers to evaluate offers and competing, outstanding offers from other employers within the strictures of their senior academic semester.

Employers are not to pressure students unduly and, in return, students are encouraged to use professionalism and total discretion in evaluating, communicating and finally choosing and closing their options with all potential employers

The Center for Career Services will not adjudicate or recommend to students or employers on competing bids or candidates. In this policy we are in total compliance with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and expect recruiters and employers to similarly honor the professional standards of this and other associations.

Ringling College of Art and Design students serving as interns or other temporary positions shall not be deemed eligible for employment until they complete their course of study at Ringling College. We discourage companies from hiring students before they complete their course of study at Ringling College. If a particular company hires students before they have graduated (or completed their degree), the company may not be allowed to return to Ringling College campus and participate in future recruiting of students.

We highly encourage recruiting companies to do campus presentations in the fall semester and schedule the interviewing in the spring semester to accommodate students’ final semester work.